Shaving implement



April 30, 1940. J, MURS v 2,198,833

SHAVINCT IMPLEMENT Filed April 26, 1958 INVENTOR l |32 BY Z @un ATTO EY 1;

in a stationary shearing member of improved Patented Apr. 30, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENTI oFFlcEf sHAvING IMPLEMENT Joseph .Murosg Cambridge, Mass., assignor to Gillette Safety Razor Company, Boston, Mass., a corporation of Delaware Application A pril 26, 1938,` Serial No. 204,369

` 4 claims.

construction for use in such shaving implements as include in their structure a thin resilient metal sheet which is perforated or apertured to present stationary shearing edges. i

It has been found that a shaving implement having a thin perforated sheet steel shearing member is satisfactory in removing relatively short stubble, that is tofsay, stubble short enough to enter the perforations or apertures of the i. shearing plate in normal or substantially normal relation to the skin of the user. An implement of this construction, however, is not satisfactory when longer hairs are encountered. In practice the apertures are sometimes not over .025 in diameter and it frequently happens that a long hair will bridge such an aperture without ever passing into it suiliciently to come within the l range of the movable shearing member which is arranged to travel with its shearing edge in contact with the inner face of the stationary shear ing member. The result is that such longer hairs are not sheared when the implement is moved across the face of the user.

The principal object of the invention is to overcome the diiliculty above'discussed and provide a dry shaving implement having a thin sheet steel shearing plate which'is highly efficient both for shaving short stubble as well 4as the longer hairs which must sometimes be dealt with. To this end an important feature of the invention consists in a shearing `plate havinga plurality of apertures therein, certain of the apertures being provided with an inwardly extending projection. The projection is designed to engage any 4o long hair over which the implement is passed and to deflect its free end or an intermediate portion ,thereof into the adjacent aperture lso that it is carried across the shearing surface in position to be engaged lby the subsequent stroke of the shearing blade. Preferably and as herein shown the hair-lifting projection may be shaped with a convex inwardly extending edgaralthough any reentrant form of projection would be within the scope of the present invention Preferably the hair-lifting projection may be located in the advancing edge of-its perforation or facing the oncoming shearing blade, although other locations may be preferredin some instances. Moreover, it may be desirable to Vary the shape or arrangement of adjacent apertures.

In' an implement wherein the shearing` plate is maintained in a curved condition the extreme point of the hair-lifting projection may extend slightly Aabove the outer face of the shearing plate, as by permitting it to lie tangentially With 5 respect to the curvature of the plate as a whole. Under these circumstances the projections are particularly eilicient in engaging and deflecting into the adjacent aperture one end or a loop portion of a long hair, so that the latter may be l brought within range of the movable shearing blade and reduced in one or more shearing operations to a length permitting it to enter an aperture end-onand so tov be shearedclose to the skin of the user.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a sectional view on an enlarged scale of the upper part of adry shaving implement embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 a corresponding view ofthe implement as-seen from above;

Fig. 3 is a corresponding view in side elevation;

v Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan lview illustrating a modiiied form of shearing plate; l

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view on a still larger scale; l

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view, partly in section on a still larger, scale; showing one aperture of the shearing plate in its relation to the face of the user; and p Fig. 7 is a corresponding plan view. l

The implement as shown in Fig. 1 comprises Ya casing lil of Bakelite or of any material suitable for moulding or casting and this is shaped to serve as a handle for the implement and also as a housing for its driving motor. The casing It) is rectangular in cross-section and provided at its upper end with askeleton supporting frame having semi-circular end ribs -H connecting spaced elongated side members I2. An intenmediate curved. rib is also shown as located between the end 4ribs of the frame and conforming in the curvature 'of its upper face to the curvature of the end ribs.

Shaped to4 the ribs of the supporting frame I and conforming to thetransverse exterior curva- 5 ture thereof is a thin resilient steel sheet or plate it. The sheet is provided with a multiplicity of perforations or apertures it, the edges of which hardened and tempered to insure that it has good edge-holding properties. By its temper it is rendered resilient to such an extent that it tends Vnormally to assume a iiat condition, but as herein shown, it is permanently conflned in a lcondition of transverse curvature by having its longitudinal edges bent inwardly and fitted into a pair of longitudinal slits formed in the members I2 of the supporting frame. After the metal sheet I3 has been thus positioned the metal of the frame is swaged inwardly in a series of spots I'I and thus the marginal edges of the steel sheet I3 are permanently retained in position.

Each perforation or aperture I4, or certain of them, is given a special character and novel shape by being provided with an inwardly projecting or reentrant portion upon which is formed a convex hair-engaging edge I5. One desirable and eiiicient form of aperture is shown in Fig. 7 from which it will be noted that the general outlinel of the aperture is circular but that its forward and rear edges are interrupted by reentrant or inwardly projecting segments. As indicated in Fig. 6 the reentrant portions tend to flatten and thus lie tangentially with respect to the curvature of the plate I3 with the result that their inner edges are very slightly lifted above the general contour of the curved plate I3. While in Fig. 2 I have shown all of the perforations of the shape described, it will be understood that it is within the scope of the invention to `form only certain of the perforations in this manner, as for example, by leaving alternate rows of circular or oval perforations, or to position alternate perforations with their axes at any desired angle to each other. The most desirable location of the perforations or apertures is in transversely staggered relation as best shown in Fig. 4. In this manner the effective longitudinal spacing of the apertures may be in eiect reduced so as to insure that no hairs will be missed in the movement of the implement across the face.

The assembled frame and sheet I3 form a rigid self-sustaining'unit which may be assembled conveniently and attached to and detached from the casing It of the implement. To this end, the opposite side members I2 of the supporting'frame are provided with notches for the reception of movable clamping arms carried by the casing I0.

A portion of the motor 20 of the implement is shown in Fig. l together with the movable shearing member which comprises a straight blade 25.

The blade 25 is loosely held in a bar 23 which isl provided at opposite ends with trunnions and -journaled in transverse arms 26 which form a part of the casing. The bar 23 is provided with a pair of downwardly extending longitudinal plates 22 spaced to receive between them a cylindrical eccentric projection 2l .on the end of the motor 2d. When the motor is energized thecarrier bar 23 is r'ocked back and forth and the blade 25 is swept transversely across the arcuate porible shearing plate 3l is provided with a plurality of apertures 32 having spaced circular portions connected by a short straight neck and thus dening in each side of the aperture a reentrant portion 33 having a straight hair-lifting edge.

When the implement is moved across the face of the user the relatively shortI hairs in its path will find their way into an aperture of any contour, but longer hairs are bent over and often bridge such apertures; However, when a shearing plate is provided -with perforations of the character herein described the inwardly projecting and slightly elevated reentrant edges engage the longer hairs and deflect one end or an intermediate portion of the hair inwardly so that it traverses the inner wall'of the shearing plate I3 and must accordingly be sheared by the movement of the oscillatory blade 25. A hair may be acted upon once or twice in this manner and is thus eventually reduced in length so that it extends substantially straight into one or another of the apertures and is sheared with little or no remaining stubble.

The action of the implement upon long hairs is well shown in Figs. 6 and 7 where the iiesh of the user is shown as bulging slightly into one of the apertures III and a long hair 30 is shown as hooked beneath the right-hand reentrant edge I5. It will be seen that when the shearing blade 25 sweeps toward the right across the inner surface of the plate I3 the hair 30 will be sheared in two places and the segment engaged beneath the reentrant edge I will be completely severed.

The hair is thus greatly reduced in length and inv the subsequent movement of the implement the portion remaining on the `face of the user will nd its way into an adjacent perforation and will again be reduced in length. Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentl. A shaving implement comprising a thin cylindrical plate having a plurality of perforations therein, certain perforations having in-one of their sides an internal projection which extends slightly beyond the cylindrical curvature of the plate, and a cooperating shearing member movable to sever hairs engaged by said projections.

2. A shearing implement including in itsstructure a thin resilient plate maintained in bowed condition and having a series of closely spaced apertures therein presenting stationary shearing edges for shearing both short stubble and long hairs, certain of the apertures having their side walls formed with inwardly directed projections bounded by convex hair-engaging edges shaped to deflect long hair into the apertures, and a cooperating shearing member movable to sever the hairs.

3. A shaving implement having a thin resilient shearing plate maintained in curved condition and provided with a multiplicity of transversely staggered openings having hair-lifting edges extending inwardly frorn the general outline of the openings, and a co-operating movable shearing member.

4. A shaving implement having a thin perforated plate and an oscillatory shearing blade movable in contact therewith, the perforations of the plate having hair-engaging projections eX- tending thereinto in a direction facing the oncoming shearing blade and being located in transversely staggered relation to each other.

JOSEPH MUROS. 

